Global enterprise printing and mailing

ABSTRACT

Systems, devices, and methods for global enterprise workflow management are disclosed. The system may include a communications module, memory, and processor for executing a method of managing job information. The system receives job information and uses a model to identify a desirable resource to execute the job. Then the system sends the job information to the identified resource for execution. The resource may send back information associated with the running and/or completion of the job. Various models may be used in identifying a desirable approach, including a cost model, a staffing model, and other models.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 60/880,923, filed Jan. 17, 2007, entitled “System and Methodfor Global Enterprise Printing and Mailing”, the entirety of which isherein incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Aspects of the invention relate generally to industrial processing. Morespecifically, aspects of the invention provide automating end-to-endprocessing of document production, assembly, and/or mailing.

BACKGROUND

Today's direct mail house must be flexible in order to respond quicklyto ever changing marketing demands from customers. The world is deeplyentrenched in the digital age. Digital technologies are here to stay andthe mailing industry must maximize efforts to stay with the times. Oneobjective of the mailing industry is to get messages, statements,documents and merchandise to the correct recipient within the prescribedtimeframe in order to secure the desired response. To properly addressthis problem requires a new approach, one that breaks with incrementalsolutions offering from the past.

In the mailing industry, customers are dealing with a rapidly changingindustry, an evolving workforce, and environment of increasingregulation. The industry has several pressures facing each customer,vendor, supplier and 3rd party entities. The largest cost factor or costelement in producing mail is the postage. The industry faces doubledigit increases that are driving alternative methods by dealing withthese extra pressures. This eliminates the cost of paper processing byabolishing the entire paper processing and using technology of theinternet and email to reduce the need of the United States PostalService. Noticeably, electronic document delivery and e-billing providesHigh Volume Mailing professionals the opportunity to achieve substantialreduction in print and mail costs. Overall electronic document deliverywill continue to grow as an importance for all mailers, of all sizes.

The direct mail production process is an extremely complicated processwith several incremental steps. Take for example a bank mailing themonthly bank statements to several thousand, or even million, bankcustomers. The banking records must be extracted from databases,processed into the proper format for a statement, printed out,separated, combined with other mailing items, folded, inserted intomailing envelopes, and sorted by postal codes to achieve mailingdiscounts. This entire process must be verifiable, so that the bank hasreasonable proof that the mailing was properly assembled and mailed toeach customer. Achieving efficiency for such processing is difficult.

Today, it is not enough for a company to provide great moduletechnology. Integrated solutions supported by numerous products tomaximize postal savings, which are regulated by the United States PostalService, and other factors are needed to solve the aforementioned issuesin the industry.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order toprovide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. Thissummary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is notintended to identify key or critical elements of the invention or todelineate the scope of the invention. The following summary merelypresents some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as aprelude to the more detailed description provided below.

A first aspect of the invention provides a system for providing workflowmanagement. The system includes a communications module, memory, andprocessor for executing a method of managing job information. The systemreceives job information and uses a model to identify a desirableresource to execute the job. Then the system sends the job informationto the identified resource for execution. The resource may send backinformation associated with the running and/or completion of the job.Various models may be used in identifying a desirable approach. A costmodel, a staffing model, and other models exist in the art and arewell-known.

A second aspect of the invention provides a method for workflowmanagement using a plurality of resources located in remote locations ina plurality of countries. The method includes receiving job information,identifying a resource to perform the job, and sending the jobinformation to that resource. In addition, the method steps may beimplemented as computer-executable instructions stored in acomputer-readable medium.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present invention and theadvantages thereof may be acquired by referring to the followingdescription in consideration of the accompanying drawings, in which likereference numbers indicate like features, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a suitable computing system in accordance withaspects of the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a simplified, illustrative operating environment forimplementing various aspects and embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a global enterprise printing and mailing model inaccordance with aspects of the invention; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart showing a method in accordance withaspects of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of the various embodiments, reference ismade to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and inwhich is shown by way of illustration various embodiments in which theinvention may be practiced. It is to be understood that otherembodiments may be utilized and structural and functional modificationsmay be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Aspects of the invention provide the ability to manage individualbusiness processes or an entire document factory by providing workflowmanagement with real-time analysis for production print and mailenvironments. The system allows views of the high-level job trackingthat drills down into job details, such as analytical analysis onspecific job(s), resource, sorting, house-holding, or employeeproductivity results. Furthermore, in accordance with various aspects ofthe invention, secure, real-time visibility provides the current processand status of every job, including the ability to identify those behindschedule and the processes, machines and/or people. Additionally,various aspects of the invention provide promotional content integratedin documents; enables organizations creating dynamic documents fromself-service web portals; provides supply solutions that advance beyondjust standalone modules or document management; provide software thatcontinues to be a driving force; provide privacy regulations forcustomers and institutions within the mail world; provide total documentintegrity; provide an upgrading of legacy systems; and/or provide afocus on flexible systems with all the varied components that comprise acompetitive end-to-end workflow.

An example of an illustrative personal computing system 100 in whichvarious aspects and embodiments of the invention may be implemented isshown in the simplified diagram in FIG. 1. The features of such a deviceare well-known to those of skill in the art and need not be described atlength here. The illustrative system 100 is only one example of asuitable system and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to thescope of use or functionality of the invention. Suitable computingenvironments for use with the invention include a computing device 102or system that support interaction with an input devices 122 (e.g.,digital camera 128, document scanner 124, multi-function office device126, etc.), output devices 118 (e.g., visual display device 120), andcommunication connections 130 (e.g., Ethernet connection, IEEE 802.11,dial-up connection, etc.). The communication connections 130 may be usedto allow the computing device 102 to communicate with other devices.With reference to FIG. 1, a computing device 102 commonly includes amemory 106 and a processor 104 (e.g., an Intel microprocessor). Thevisual display device 120 may be configured to automatically displayreporting information in near realtime. The reporting information may bereceived through the communication connections 130 and automaticallypassed to the visual display device 120 for near realtime display.

Programs, comprising sets of instructions and associated data, may bestored in the memory 106, from which they can be retrieved and executedby the processing unit 103. Among the programs and program modulesstored in the memory 106 are those that comprise or are associated withan operating system 110 as well as application programs 112. Applicationprograms 112, such as a web browser application, Java runtimeenvironment, and others, and an operating system 110 are commonlyinstalled in a computing device 102. The memory 106 may also include acache 106 to enhance device performance. Computing system 100 includesforms of computer-readable media. Computer-readable media include anyavailable media that can be accessed by the computing device 102.Computer-readable media may comprise storage media and communicationmedia. Storage media include volatile and nonvolatile, removable andnon-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storageof information such as computer-readable instructions, object code, datastructures, program modules, or other data. Communication media includeany information delivery media and typically embody data in a modulateddata signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism.

Aspects of the inventive methods may be embodied as computer readableinstructions stored on a computer readable medium such as a floppy disk,CD-ROM, removable storage device, hard disk, system memory, or otherdata storage medium. FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a computerreadable medium 106 that may be used in accordance with one or more ofthe above described embodiments. The computer readable medium 106 storescomputer executable components, or the numerous software modulesdescribed below. More or fewer software modules may alternatively beused. Each component may be an executable program, a data link library,a configuration file, a database, a graphical image, a binary data file,a text data file, an object file, a source code file, or the like. Aswill be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the functionality of thesoftware modules may be combined or distributed as desired in variousembodiments. When one or more computer processors (e.g., processingunits) execute one or more of the software modules, the software modulesinteract to cause one or more computer systems to perform according tothe teachings of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the global enterprise printing and mailing model300 is a process that is designed around the printing and mailingoperations of any entity in the print and mail operations industry. Thismodel allows global business entities to build staffing, financial, costmodels, concatenate and/or commingle jobs to attain low cost per pieceand maximize capacity. This concept also provides a global work flowview connecting all the national business entities and internationalbusiness entities into one model. The concept is based on buildingseveral modules into a global model. Such modules and their corefunctionality are highlighted below.

One such module is the print control and reporting module, and localmailing control module. Numerous features of these modules in accordancewith aspects of the invention are disclosed in U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/880,923 (filed Jan. 17, 2007), the entirety ofwhich has already been incorporated by reference above, including, butnot limited to, in the sections labeled accordingly, including thecorresponding flow chart diagrams. Those sections list various methodsteps and approaches associated with aspects of such modules.

In the global enterprise printing and mailing model 300, a scanningdevice 124 (e.g., a bar code scanning device) may be located at each ofthe plurality of resources configured to scan a barcode on the printingdevice. For example, a different barcode may correspond to the variousfunctions and inputs that a maintenance technician or device operatormay wish to input/record about the system. The technician may scan abarcode designated for repairs each time a printing machine has amalfunction and requires repair. In some examples, there may be abarcode for start repair and a different one for stop repair. As such,information may be collected and stored regarding the system that may beused for model information.

Another module in the global enterprise printing and mailing model isthe costing and staffing module. Numerous features of this module inaccordance with aspects of the invention are disclosed in U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/880,923 (filed Jan. 17,2007), the entirety of which has already been incorporated by referenceabove, including, but not limited to, in the section labeled“Costing/Staffing” which includes the corresponding flow chart diagrams.That section, which has already been incorporated by reference in thisapplication, lists various method steps and approaches associated withaspects of such a module.

In the global enterprise printing and mailing model 300, the costing andstaffing module may use model information stored in memory (e.g., aglobal enterprise database or a local database) to identify a desirablefacility or resource located anywhere worldwide to utilize. The modelinformation may comprise information about cost of materials (e.g.,envelopes, inserts, paper, consumables, ink, etc.), cost of print image,cost of labor (e.g., cost of staff required to run various systems suchas upstream software, printers, inserters, and cost of supervisors forthe staff), postal cost, hard costs (e.g., building costs, utilities,any internal billing costs, etc.), history of cost, holiday schedule,vacation schedule, and production schedule. One skilled in the art willappreciate that other factors may be useful to monitor and/or record forpurposes of creating a model, and the invention is not so limited to theaforementioned list of non-exhaustive factors.

The model information may be used to identify a desirable facility basedon various business rules embodied in various models. For example, undera cost model approach, collected heuristic cost information isconsidered while predicting future cost per piece. In addition,information about the hard costs for a particular site (e.g.,resource/facility) is considered. Moreover, the cost of paper and othermaterials is considered in light of the paper type and weight (e.g., 18lb paper, 20 lb paper, 22 lb paper, etc.) used. Under a different model,the staffing model, collected heuristic schedule information isconsidered while predicting future schedules. In addition, informationabout how many employees a particular type of machine (e.g., printerdevice, inserter device, etc.) requires is considered. Moreover, theforecasted month end, quarter end, and year end volumes are considered.Finally, under yet another model the approach may be based on amaximizing utilization of the plurality of resources available to theworkflow. For example, concatenate and commingle module may use businessrules to sort based on achieving low cost per piece, or based on theinternational guidelines, or based on maximizing machine utilization.Likewise, information collected will be used to drive the decisionprocess under the business rules. One skilled in the art will appreciatethat various statistical methods may be used to construct each modelwith its associated business rules.

In one example, a desirable facility may be identified by attributingequal weight to cost savings and machine utilization. In such anexample, each resource site's cost per piece may be calculated usingnumerous factors (e.g., cost of materials, cost of equipment, hardcosts, etc.) and compared to a benchmark cost value. For example, site Amay be found to cost $0.15 per piece, while site B costs $0.17 perpiece. Assuming a benchmark cost of $0.15 per piece, site A would beassigned a higher rank (e.g., a value of 1.0) than site B (e.g., a valueof 0.9). In addition, the utilization rating of each site may also beconsidered. Assuming site A has a machine utilization of 1.0 (i.e.,where 0.5 represents 50% utilization) and site B has a machineutilization of 1.0 (i.e., where 1.0 represent 100% utilization), thensite A may have a higher rank in this line-up than site B. Therefore, itmay be identified that site A is the desirable resource to use since ithas a lower cost per piece and has excess machine capacity to provide.One skilled in the art will appreciate that the weights attributed tothe various considerations may be adjusted depending on a client'sparticular objectives.

Another module in the global enterprise printing and mailing model isthe concatenating and commingling module. Numerous features of thismodule in accordance with aspects of the invention are disclosed in U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/880,923 (filed Jan. 17,2007), the entirety of which has already been incorporated by referenceabove, including, but not limited to, in the section labeled“Concatenating and Commingling” which includes the corresponding flowchart diagrams. That section, which has already been incorporated byreference in this application, lists various method steps and approachesassociated with aspects of such a module.

Other modules in the global enterprise printing and mailing modelinclude: the financial module, the insert control and reporting module,the job preparation module, the floor monitoring module, the modelingmodule, the inserter manager module, the enterprise manager module, theenterprise report module, the enterprise planner module, and themanagement/administration of work flow control module. Numerous featuresof these modules in accordance with aspects of the invention aredisclosed in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/880,923(filed Jan. 17, 2007), the entirety of which has already beenincorporated by reference above, including, but not limited to, in thesections labeled accordingly, including the corresponding flow chartdiagrams. Those sections list various method steps and approachesassociated with aspects of such modules.

In addition, numerous features of the systems and steps of the methodsin accordance with aspects of the invention are disclosed in U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/880,923 (filed Jan. 17,2007), the entirety of which has already been incorporated by referenceabove, including, but not limited to, in the table labeled “BRD ResponseSummary/Gap Analysis.” That table, which has already been incorporatedby reference in this application, lists various business rulesassociated with aspects of the invention and various functionality thatmay be implemented to address application requirements and associatedbusiness rules. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate thatwhere words such as “need” or “must” have been used in theaforementioned U.S. Provisional Patent Application, they shall not beconstrued to limit the invention.

FIG. 2 depicts a simplified, illustrative operating environment forimplementing various aspects and embodiments of the invention. Theillustrative operating environment in FIG. 2 is only one example of asuitable operating scenario and is not intended to suggest anylimitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the invention.

In the global enterprise printing and mailing model 300, resources maybe spread across the globe. For example, resources 214, 202, and 102 maybe located in different countries in remote locations. Each resource maycontain a computing device similar to the computing system 100 ofFIG. 1. The computing system 202 may contain a memory 206 and processor204. In addition, a data store 208 may be in communication with acomputing system 102 to store information, such as job information(e.g., information associated with a print and/or mail job) and modelinformation.

In one example, a resource 202 with a computing device may receive jobinformation from a computing system 102 controlling the global workflow.The computing device 202 may process the job information and send printimage data to various devices 212 (e.g., printing device, insertingdevice, and/or sorting device) to perform the document functions. Inaddition, any additional information (e.g., information collected from ahandheld barcode scanner at devices 212) may be collected and sent,along with other operating information, to computing system 102 forstorage as model information in global enterprise database 208 (or datastore).

One skilled in the art will appreciate that the network 210 may be anyof the Internet, wide area network (WAN), local area network (LAN),wireless LAN (e.g., a LAN using IEEE 802.11, a Bluetooth network, etc.)or any other telecommunications network (e.g., satellite, cable,dial-up, etc.) that permits communication between remote computingsystems. Furthermore, the network 210 may include wired and/or wirelesscommunication.

The computing system 102 may be comprised of a memory 106 storingcomputer-executable instructions and a processor 104 for executing theinstructions. The instructions may direct the computing device 102 toperform numerous function, including various functions described in FIG.4 and throughout this disclosure. One skilled in the art will appreciatethat the computing devices as depicted in FIG. 2 are not limited to asingle machine or device. Rather, the term refers to any system ofcomputers and/or devices (e.g., firewalls, routers, caching systems,proxy servers, etc.) that may be used to provide access to services andfeatures available for access in the global enterprise model 300. Assuch, different reference to the term performing particular steps doesnot require that the same machine/device perform all the steps.

Referring to FIG. 4, a method of workflow management using a pluralityof resources located in remote locations in a plurality of countries isrepresented. In step 402, job information is received from a remotelocation. In step 404, the job information is stored in computer memory.In step 406, using model information stored in the memory, a desirableresource is identified to execute a job corresponding to the jobinformation. In step 408, at least part of the job information is sentto the desirable resource. The desirable resource may include a printingdevice, inserting device, and sorting device 212. In step 410, reportinginformation is received from the desirable resource. The reportinginformation is associated with the job information and may include datacollected at the resource facility by maintenance technicians and otheremployees operating the devices 212. For example, this may include printdevice monitoring information entered using a scanning device. The printdevice monitoring information may be stored in memory as part of themodel information. In step 412, the reporting information is displayedon a visual display device in a near realtime manner. The visual displaymay be use the floor monitor module disclosed in U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/880,923 (filed Jan. 17, 2007), the entirety ofwhich has already been incorporated by reference above.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims.

We claim:
 1. A system for providing workflow management, comprising: acommunications module configured to communicate with a plurality ofresources located in a plurality of different countries, where theplurality of resources comprise an inserting device, sorting device, andprinting device; a memory configured to store job information and modelinformation comprising cost of materials, cost of print image, cost oflabor, postal cost, hard costs, and history of cost, wherein the modelinformation identifies a utilization rating of each of the plurality ofresources located in different countries and a postal cost based onpaper weight, wherein the utilization rating corresponds to a resource'sexcess available capacity, and wherein the memory comprisingnon-volatile memory for storing computer-executable instructions; and aprocessor configured to execute the computer-executable instructions toperform a method comprising: receiving the job information from a remotelocation, wherein the job information includes attribute of the paperweight; automatically determining, by the processor using the modelinformation, a first resource of the plurality of resources with ahigher utilization ranking than a second resource of the plurality ofresources located in remote locations, wherein the resources are locatedin remote location in different countries; sending the job informationto the first resource in the different country to cause the firstresource to execute the job corresponding to the job information,wherein executing the job comprises: printing, using the printing deviceat the first resource, at least the job corresponding to the jobinformation; and causing the printed job to be mailed; and receivingreporting information from the first resource, the reporting informationbeing associated with the job information.
 2. The system of claim 1,where the remote location and a location of the desirable resource arein different countries.
 3. The system of claim 1, where the jobinformation comprises account number, address, zip code, and paper size.4. The system of claim 1, comprising: a visual display device located ateach of the plurality of resources configured to display the reportinginformation.
 5. The system of claim 4, where the reporting informationis automatically displayed on the visual display device in nearrealtime.
 6. The system of claim 1, comprising: a barcode scanningdevice located at each of the plurality of resources configured to scana barcode on the printing device.
 7. The system of claim 1, where themodel information further comprises holiday schedule, vacation schedule,and production schedule.
 8. The system of claim 1, where the modelinformation is based on a cost model, and the system further comprises alocal mailing control module configured to use the model information toidentify the desirable resource to execute the job corresponding to thejob information.
 9. The system of claim 7, where the model informationis based on a staffing model.
 10. The system of claim 1, where the modelinformation is based on maximizing utilization of the plurality ofresources.
 11. A method of workflow management using a plurality ofresources located in remote locations in a plurality of countries,wherein the plurality of resources comprises an inserting device,sorting device, and printing device, the method comprising: receivingjob information from a remote location; storing the job information in amemory, wherein the job information includes attribute of paper weight;using model information stored in the memory to automatically identify adesirable resource to execute a job corresponding to the jobinformation, wherein the model information comprises at least one ofcost of materials, cost of print image, cost of labor, postal cost, hardcosts, and history of cost, and wherein the model information identifiesa desirable resource from among the plurality of resources based on itshigher rankings for machine utilization and material cost savings,wherein the machine utilization corresponds to a resource's usedcapacity, wherein the plurality of resources are located in remotelocation in different countries; sending at least part of the jobinformation to the desirable resource, where the desirable resourcecomprises a printing device and an inserting device; receiving reportinginformation from the desirable resource indicating that the desirableresource has printed at least the job information using the printingdevice and caused the printed job to be mailed and displaying thereporting information on a visual display device in a near realtimemanner.
 12. The method of claim 11, where the job information comprisesaccount number, address, and paper size.
 13. The method of claim 11,further comprising: receiving print device monitoring informationentered using a scanning device, the print device monitoring informationbeing stored in the memory as part of the model information.
 14. Themethod of claim 11, where the desirable resource further comprises asorting device.
 15. The method of claim 11, where the model informationcomprises cost of materials, cost of labor, postal cost, and hard costs.16. The method of claim 15, where the model information is based on acost model.
 17. The method of claim 11, where the model information isbased on a staffing model.
 18. A non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium storing computer-executable instructions which, whenexecuted by a processor, cause the processor to perform a methodcomprising: receiving job information from a remote location; storingthe job information in a memory, wherein the job information includesattribute of paper weight; using model information stored in the memoryto automatically identify a desirable resource from a plurality ofresources located in a plurality of countries to execute a jobcorresponding to the job information, wherein the plurality of resourcescomprises an inserting device, sorting device, and printing device,wherein the model information comprises at least one of cost ofmaterials, cost of print image, cost of labor, postal cost, hard costs,and history of cost, and wherein the model information identifies adesirable resource from among the plurality of resources based on itshigher rankings for machine utilization and material cost savings,wherein the machine utilization corresponds to a resource's usedcapacity, wherein the plurality of resources are located in remotelocation in different countries; sending at least part of the jobinformation to the desirable resource, where the desirable resourcecomprises a printing device and an inserting device; and receivingreporting information from the desirable resource indicating that thedesirable resource has printed at least the job information using theprinting device, the reporting information being associated with the jobinformation.
 19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherethe model information comprises cost of materials, cost of labor, postalcost, and hard costs, and the desirable resource is identified based ona cost model.